The site for ranting and reporting by John Masters
I would classify things in this category that were related to arts, literature, cinema, performance. Things that make us and the world better.
Follow a week in the life of a young folk singer as he navigates the Greenwich Village folk scene of 1961. Guitar in tow, huddled against the unforgiving New York winter, he is struggling to make it as a musician against seemingly insurmountable obstacles — some of them of his own making. I really expected I would enjoy this movie, as did Lay. Unfortunately, I didn’t like it at all.
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In the year 2154, the very wealthy live on a man-made space station while the rest of the population resides on a ruined Earth. A man takes on a mission that could bring equality to the polarized worlds. We both liked this movie. I might have liked it a little better than Lay. It was actually a bit thoughtful and thought-provoking. Not outstanding, but it was definitely worth watching.
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A con man, Irving Rosenfeld, along with his seductive partner Sydney Prosser, is forced to work for a wild FBI agent, Richie DiMaso, who pushes them into a world of Jersey powerbrokers and mafia. We both really wanted to like this movie, but we both hated it. I remember some of the news coverage of the events, and was really disappointed. It just never seem to grab my attention.
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A year after winning the 74th Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen and her partner, Peeta Mellark must go on what is known as the Victor’s Tour wherein they visit all the districts. But before leaving, Katniss is visited by President Snow who fears that Katniss defied him a year ago during the games when she chose to die with Peta. With both Katniss and Peeta declared the winners, it is fueling a possible uprising.
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I’ve been meaning to comment about the Coca Cola Super Bowl Ad for a while. I’ve never seen such a disgusting exhibition of hate and bigotry as erupted on social media from some Uhmerikans after this beautiful ad aired. Americans (especially conservative Americans) have proven they don’t know a damn thing about American history or what it is to be an American.
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This is the true story of the outlandish rise and non-stop pleasure-hunting descent of Jordan Belfort, the New York stockbroker. It’s good entertainment for adults. I think it should have had a NC17 rating, so beware, don’t take the kids or your mother. While all the actors played their parts well, the story got a bit repetitive, and maybe over simplified the story just a bit. It was, however, worth the price of admission.
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Without any doubt, my favorite series of books is the “Tales of The City” series written by Armistead Maupin, and there’s about to be a new and final book, The Days of Anna Madrigal. Tales of the City is a series of novels, the first portions of which were published initially as a newspaper serial starting on August 8, 1974, in a Marin County newspaper, The Pacific Sun, picked up in 1976 by the San Francisco Chronicle, and later reworked into the series of books published by HarperCollins.
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“NEBRASKA” is our choice for best movie of 2013. It’s about a father and son road trip, from Billings, Montana to Lincoln, Nebraska that gets waylaid at a small town in central Nebraska, where the father grew up and has scores to settle. Told with deadpan humor and a unique visual style, it’s ultimately the story of a son trying to get through to a father he doesn’t understand.
Read moreHere’s a beautiful piece, again by the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles with students from the Creative Planet School of the Arts performing a David Bowie song, “Peace on Earth.” Coincidentally, this performance took place the day after the Newtown Shooting in 2013, and the performance was dedicated to those who’s lives were touched by violence.
Read moreHere’s another video from the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles performing “12 Rockin’s Days of Christmas. This will get your blood going as you head on the last weekend before Christmas. The choreography is amazing. I wanna go see them now. Happy Holidays everyone!
Read moreWhat a voice. This is Melissa Manchester singing Cradle in Bethlehem with the Gay Mens Chorus of Los Angeles. Worth the few minutes…trust me.
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